It Reminds Me Of When We Were Young
by Reda
Summary: During the years of Goku training Uub, he tends to forget to visit, but at least he tries. Chi-Chi doesn't mind waiting, content to enjoy every moment she has with him regardless of how much time he spends away. She just hopes he'll manage to show up for Pan's birthday this time.


**A/N:** More Tumblr Requests from way long ago. Earlier this year I guess?

 **Words:** 1, 335

 _You still look like a movie._

 _You still sound like a song._

 _My God, it reminds me_

 _Of when we were young._

 _Let me photograph you in this light_

 _In case it is the last time that we might_

 _Be exactly like we were before we realized_

 _We were sad of getting old_

 _It made us restless_

"Do you think Grandpa will be here for my birthday party today?"

Chi-Chi felt her breath hitch at her granddaughter's question. Her hands trembled in the soapy water as she dropped her hold on the dish she'd been cleaning, letting it slowly sink down to the bottom. Pan's question was inevitable, she supposed. She should have been prepared. For the past eight years, Pan would always ask if Goku would be back in time for her birthday party. Even now, at thirteen, she still asked.

"Pan," Chi-Chi said after taking a moment to clear her thoughts. "You know as well as I do, I can't answer that. Your Grandpa will show up where and when he pleases."

Her now teenage granddaughter stepped up next to her, frowning as she held out the last of the snack plates. "I know. I just...wanted you to say of course he'd show up. Like you used to do when I was younger."

Chi-Chi smiled as she took the plate and continued her wash routine. They'd had tea and cakes for a sweet snack, just the two of them. There were still hours left until Pan's planned birthday party, purposefully set late in the evening to give Goku plenty of time to remember. Chi-Chi would have to start cooking the big dinner soon, but she wasn't holding out any hope. Goku showed up when he wanted to, never really realizing how much time he'd spent away in the meantime.

"Well, you're a teenager now," Chi-Chi said with a little tease in her voice, trying to lift Pan's spirits despite her words. "You can handle the truth."

"The truth sucks," Pan grumbled, turning away to mope around the room. "I wish he didn't have to train all the time. He's really bad at coming to visit."

Feeling her smile crack, Chi-Chi sighed into her work. She had to agree with her granddaughter, but she'd been with Goku for so long now she knew better than to think she could tie that man down. As much as she wished Goku would visit more often, that he'd be home every night, she wasn't upset or even sad. Her heart would always long for him, but it wasn't like he stayed away for years. He wasn't dead. He wasn't somewhere off in space. He was here, on Earth, and the worst record he had was a few weeks.

It was easier to deal with, even if she wished he would just stay put. He wouldn't be Goku if he did that, though. And Uub was a nice kid. She couldn't be mad at either of them for having a good time, especially after learning of the situation in Uub's village and how Goku was like a father figure to the boy, whether he realized it or not.

Chi-Chi smiled at the reminder. She shouldn't stop her husband from touching other people with his infectious light. And he _did_ come home, always staying for a good length of time when he did, too, as if trying to make up for missing days with her.

"Grandma, did you hear me?"

Blinking out of her day dreams, Chi-Chi turned her head to see Pan standing by the doorway with Goku's old power pole in hand. "No, I'm sorry, sweetie, what were you saying?"

Pan rolled her eyes. "I said I'm gonna go outside and kill some time with this ole' thing. That's okay with you, right? I mean, you're gonna start dinner soon and all."

"All right," she said with a nod. "Be careful."

"Yeah, I know."

Staring after the young girl, Chi-Chi found herself lost in some old memories. For just a moment, Pan had a strange resemblance to her grandfather. Maybe it was the power pole. Maybe it was the mock up _gi_ she wore even today. Unlike her boys, Pan continued to train like her grandfather had taught her so many years ago. Not all the time or anything. No, it was more of an exercise work out for her than any serious attempt to -

"Kinda reminds ya of me when she does that, huh?"

With a start, Chi-Chi spun at the voice, feeling his touch on her shoulder lift and then settle again as she moved. And there he stood. His face was a little worn, like it was maybe, _possibly_ starting to show his age. Nothing like hers, of course. Oh, his deep black hair had lost some of its shine, but she doubted anyone else would notice the subtle detail. Unlike hers, which was going gray as if it was trying to make up for the changes her husband _wasn't_ showing. Sure, Saiyans aged differently; she accepted, better than Bulma did at least, or so she would argue (they'd still gripe to each other about how _unfair_ it all was).

His smile was still the same. Bright and cheerful and lighting up the room when she could have sworn it was already bright enough. And his _eyes_. She never could get over how much she could see in those dark depths.

Whenever he came back home, his eyes would remind her of all the times before. From the childhood memory of his surprise visit in the flower field, by the lake, near the apple tree. To the evenings in their early life of marriage when he'd walk through the door after being outside training all day, coming home to ask when dinner would be ready. Or the way his gaze shimmered significantly after his venture in space, and he came home to spend a few precious moments just staring at her. And of course the look he gave to her and only her when he came back from the dead for a day, and then again when he brought the good news that he was alive and here to stay.

"Goku," she breathed, losing all sense of herself as she sprang into his embrace, ignoring the old ache in her bones as his arms wrapped around her, as he _laughed_.

"Hey, Chi-Chi," he said, rubbing her back as she clung to him. "I wasn't gone for too long again, was I?"

She shook her head, taking in his smell as she buried her face in his chest. "You could be gone an hour, and I'd still ache for your return."

"Uhm. Okay?" Goku said, shakily, as if not really understanding her meaning, which made her smile because that was just like him. "Well, anyway, I'm not too late for Pan's birthday, am I? I know she went out to practice -"

"No, you're not late," she said, stepping back to wipe her eyes and smile at him. "You're actually early, surprisingly."

He laughed, putting a hand behind his head. "Yeah, well, Uub mentioned something about getting a gift, so, uh, you can thank him, I guess."

Shaking her head with a chuckle of her own, Chi-Chi turned away to drain her sink and get to work on that big dinner. "So where is Uub right now anyway? Don't tell me you left him behind."

"Heh, well, sort of," Goku said behind her, though she could feel his eyes watching her every movement, bringing back the memories of him sitting in the kitchen while she cooked. "We decided to go shop for a gift and some lady sprayed that perfume stuff in my face so, uh, I had to get out of there fast – and you were the first person I thought of."

"Really?"

When she turned her eyes to him, she could see how he'd gone to sit at the table, hand on his cheek as he watched her, just like he used to. "Yeah, really. I'm always thinking of you, Chi."

Her heart soared at the words, proving that Goku could still find a way to say some of the sweetest things in the most off handed ways. She smiled as she turned back to her work, her aching hands filled with new vigor. "And I, you, Goku. Always."


End file.
